Dispensing containers

ABSTRACT

A CONTAINER FOR WATER DISPERABLE TREATMENT MATERIAL FOR USE IN FLUSHABLE WATER CISTERNS COMPRISING TWO MEMBERS, EACH WITH ITS MARGINAL EDGE IN A COMMON PLANE AND AT LEAST ONE OF WHICH IS SHAPED TO FORM PART OF A HOLLOW BODY, JOINED EDGE-TO-EDGE TO FORM A MAIN COMPARTMENT DIVIDED INTO AN ADJACENT ELONGATED COMPARTMENT OPEN AT ITS OPERATIVE LOWER END TO THE MAIN COMPARTMENT A PORT OPENING INTO THE MAIN COMPARTMENT AT ITS UPPERMOST POINT IN OPERATIVE POSITION OF THE CONTAINER, AND AT LEAST ONE PORT OPENING INTO THE ELONGATED COMPARTMENT AT A POINT   LOWER THAN AND SPACED A VERTICAL DISTANCE FROM SAID FIRST MENTIONED PORT IN SAID OPERATIVE POSITION, IN ARRANGEMENT SUCH THAT WHEN PLACED IN A WATER CISTERN WATER MAY ENTER AND FILL THE CONTAINER AND THEN ON EMPTYING THE CISTERN THERE WILL BE A DISCHARGE OF WATER AND DISPERSABLE MATERIAL THROUGH THE LOWER PORT ON UNCOVERING OF THE UPPERMOST PORT.

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DISPENSING CONTAINERS 4 Sheets--Sheel 1 Filed May 9. 1969 R. P. HILL. ETAL ,{gMwl'zw DISPENSING CONTAINERS 4 Sheets-Sheet P,

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DISPENSING CONTAINERS Filed May 9, 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet .'5

@Y AMM, www MLM P. Hlm. ET AL DISPENSING CONTAINERS 4 .Sheets-Shea?l 4Filed May 9. 1969 H. HILL H. HDS di ,Mff RDDOGK (LLM 3,618,143DISPENSINC CONTAINERS Ronald Poppleton Hill, Willerby, Harry Hodds,Hull, and

John Michael lFulks Braddock, Ham, Richmond, England, assignors toReckitt 81 Colman Products Limited, Hull, England lFiled May 9, 1969,Ser. No. 823,438 Claims priority, application Great Britain, May 29,1968, 25,821/68 Int. Cl. lE3d 9/02, 9/03 US. Cl. 4--228 3 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A container for water dispersable treatmentmaterial for use in flushable water cisterns comprising two members,each with its marginal edge in a common plane and at least one of whichis shaped to form part of a hollow body, joined edge-to-edge to form amain compartment divided into an adjacent elongated compartment open atits operative lower end to the main compartment a port opening into themain compartment at its uppermost point in operative position of thecontainer, and at least one port opening into the elongated compartmentat a point lower than and spaced a vertical distance from said firstmentioned port in said operative position, in arrangement such that whenplaced in a water cistern water may enter and fill the container andthen on emptying the cistern there will be a discharge of Water anddispersable material through the lower port on uncovering of theuppermost port.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is known to enclose the treatmentmaterial in the form of a block or solidified melt within a containerprovided with apertures and to place the container near the bottom of acistern so that a portion of such material is dispersed into the cisternwater towards the end of the flush so that some of the treatmentmaterial will remain in the water trapped in the W.C. bowl until thenext flushing. It is, however, necessary to ensure that the treatmentmaterial will not intermingle with the water in the cistern,particularly when the interval between flushes is prolonged, as mayoccur during the night, in order that the treatment material will notcause deterioration or corrosion ot the cistern mechanism and fittings.

SPECIFICATION This invention relates to containers for treatmentmaterials which may have a cleansing, deodorsing and/or disinfectingaction on W.C. bowls, urinals and other titments (hereinafter referredto as WC. bowls) which are iiushed from time to time with water from acistern, and has for its object to provide a container for treatmentmaterial which when in use reduces to a minimum any tendency for watercirculation to occur therethrough so that migration of treatment liquidfrom the container into the cistern water is substantially avoided yetpermits an outfiow of treatment material into the cistern water onlytowards the termination of emptying of the cistern.

A particular object of the present invention is to provide a hollowcontainer comprising two members, each with marginal edges in a commonplane and at least one of which is shaped from its marginal edge to formpart of a hollow body, joined edge-to-edge to form a main compartment tocontain treatment material and divided to form an adjacent elongatedcompartment of smaller crosssection open at its lower end to the maincompartment, a port opening into the main compartment at its uppermostpoint in operative position of the container, and at least one portopening into the elongated compartment at a point lower than and spaceda vertical distance from said first mentioned port in said operativeposition, in arrangement such that when placed in a water cistern watermay enter and fill the container and then on emptying the cistern therewill be a discharge ot water and dispersable material through the lowerport on uncovering of the uppermost port.

The one member may be a flat web and the other member may Ibe shaped todefine also the elongated compartment or a separate member defining thesame may be affixed between the two members.

The shaped member of the container may be moulded in plastics materialby an injection process or by deformation under heat and pressure from aiiat sheet as by vacuum forming and is preferably provided with a planarflange around its periphery for the purpose of sealingly securing it tothe edge of a fiat web made of like material. The container may be ofany convenient shape, e.g. it may be curvilinear, rectangular, ortrapezoidal in elevation. The top of the main compartment may be fiat,sloping or curved upwardly to the uppermost port which may be at oneside or in a middle position.

Preferably the shaping of the shaped member is such that it forms theelongated compartment of smaller crosssection with such defining portionalso aiiixed to the flat web but a separate member, conveniently also ofplastics material, may be provided and adhered in appropriate positionto define the elongated compartment.

The container may also be made of metal foil such as aluminium foil, ofresin or other surface coated paper, and of other waterproof sheetmaterials which may be deformed and are not liable to be acted upon bythe treatment material.

The spacing, in vertical sense, between the uppermost port and the lowerport is chosen as to provide a desired quantity outfiow of liquidthrough the latter port at discharge. The spacing of the lower end ofthe elongated compartment relative to the lower (outlet) port may alsobe chosen to take the outow of liquid from a required point near thebottom of the main compartment. Thus, as it is desirable in theinterests of eiiiciency and economy to arrange for an adequate as weilas a reasonably constant dose of treatment materials to be included atthe end of each cistern flush, by a suitable combination of the forgoingvariables the required amount of particular treatment materials may bedispersed each time the device is caused to operate.

Further variation is possible by selecting suitable sizes for theuppenrnost and lower ports in order to obtain a convenient flow rate.The ports may face in any direction but a convenient arrangement is onein which they face the same direction. This is particularly advantageouswhen the ports are in the at web as they may then be sealed by theapplication of a length of adhesive tape, which must be removed beforethe device is put in use, to prevent deterioration of the treatmentmaterial by ingress of moisture and the contamination of other articlesby odoriferous ingredients of the treatment material.

Alternatively, the ilat web may be employed as a separator between thetwo shaped members, of like or opposite hand, so forming two independentbut combined devices which may be used to dispense two differentmaterials at the same time. In the case of such double devices, theshaped members are preferably of the same hand and are afxed to oppositefaces of the ilat web in relatively displaced positions so that theports opening into the respective compartments are all in the flat web,and so may be conveniently sealed by adhesive tape prior to use.

BtRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an obverse elevation of oneembodiment of container showing its shaped member,

FIG. 2 is a crdoss-section through a larger capacity container made oftwo of the shaped members of the container of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a reverse elevation of the container of FIG. 1 showing itsflat member,

FIG. 4 is a cross-section taken on the line IV-IV of FIG. 1, l

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the container with part of its shapedmember shown broken away,

FIG. 6 is an elevation (similar to FIG. 1) of another embodiment ofcontainer,

FIG, 7 is a cross-section taken on the line VII-VII of FIG. 6,

FIG. 8 is an elevation (again similar to FIG. 1) of yet anotherembodiment of container,

FIG. 9 is a section on the line IX-IX of FIG. 7,

FIG. 10 is an elevation of ya variation of the container shown in FIG.1,

FIG. 11 is a cross-section taken on the line XI--XI of FIG. 9,

FIG. 12 is `an obverse elevation of still another embodiment ofcontainer,

FIG. 13 is a reverse elevation of the container shown in FIG. 12,

FIG. 14 is a cross-section on the line XIV-XIV of FIG. 12,

FIG. 15 is an elevation (similar to FIG. 12) of a double container inthe form of the embodiment shown in FIG. 12y

FIG. 16 is a cross-section on the line XVI-XVI of F'IG. 14, and

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of an embodiment of container having ashaped member made by injection moulding with part of its joined on flatweb member shown broken away.

In the said drawings like parts are identied by like reference numerals.

OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION The container shown in FIGS. 1 to 4comprises a shaped member 1, formed by deforming a thin sheet ofplastics material, of aluminium, of surfaced coated paper and of otherdeformable waterproof material to provide a main internal compartment 2and an adjacent internal smaller cross-sectional compartment 3 with itslower (in operative position and as shown) end communicating with themain compartment. The member 1 is formed with a planar edge 4 by meansof which it is joined to a complementary member which may be a shapedmember of similar deformation but of opposite hand (see FIG. 2) when notonly the edges 4 are joined together by known heat sealng methods but`also the portions 1 of the members 1 which define the smallercross-section compartment 3 are so joined together, but preferably andas shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 the complementary member is a at web 5 towhich are joined the edge 4 and portion 1' of the member 1.

A port 6 opening into the uppermost part of the main compartment isprovided and provided conveniently and IDESORIPTION as shown in themember 5. A second, lower, port 7 opening into the smaller cross-sectioncompartment 3 is provided, and desirably also provided in the member 5.The port 7 is spaced a vertical distance, in operative position of thecontainer, and as shown, from the port 6 and forms a discharge port.Where, as in the embodiment illustrated, the smaller cross-sectioncompartment 3 is at its upper end closed off from the main compartment 2a port 8 is also provided opening into the compartment 3 at that upperend. An aperture 9 to receive a hanging cord or wire (not shown) isprovided into an extension of the edge portion 4 at the uppermost point.

A block (not shown) of treatment material is placed in the maincompartment 2 prior to joining on the complementary member 5 and theports 6, 7 and 8 are sealed by adhesive tape (not shown) to protect theblock from deterioration and prevent contamination by exgress oftreatment material. Before the container is used by placing it near thebottom of a cistern such tape is removed. Cistern water enters throughthe ports to fill the container and becomes charged as b'y solution withtreatment material. When such cistern is ushed, the sinking water levelwill uncover the port 6 and so cause an out-flow through the port 7 oftreatment material and water from the interior of container into Waterstill in the cistern which is the water the bulk of which will betrapped in the W.C. bowl and hence the treatment material dischargedwill mostly remain in such bowl. The vertical distance between the ports6 and 7 and the formation of the smaller crosssection compartments 3effectively prevents flow of water through the container except at theend of a cistern flush.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the deformation portioni1 of the shaped member 1 defines a smaller cross-section compartment 3of shorter length (than that shown in FIGS. 1 and 3) and the port 7 isprovided at the upper end of that compartment. Again the container maybe made of two shaped members 1 or of a shaped member 1 edge-to-edgejoined to a at web member 5.

The smaller cross-section compartment 3 may communicate with the maincompartment 2 also at its upper end. Such arrangement is illustrated inFIGS. 8 and 9 in which as an alternative to the further deformation ofthe member 1 a separate member 10 defining and separating thecompartments is affixed as by adhesion to the two members 1 or to themembers 1 and 5 respectively forming the container.

When the main compartment 2 is not shaped to have a terminal point at anuppermost part whereat the port 6 may be provided as is the case withthe embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1, 6 and 8, for example when thecompartment 2 has a flat top as shown in FIG. 10 two ports 11, 12 areprovided instead of the port 6.

A further form of container with the small cross-section compartment 2open at both ends to the main compartment 2 and having the port 6 at theuppermost part of that compartment other than at the centre thereof isillustrated in FIGS. l2, 13 and 14, as a container of rectangular shape.lAs shown in such figures the shaped member 1 defines a main compartmentof diminishing width from one side of the container to the other (seeFIG. 14) in conjunction with a flat member 5 in which the ports 6 and 7are provided. This form of container particularly lends itself to theformation of a double container for dispensing two treatment materialsat the same time by, as shown in FIGS. l5 and 16 afxing two shapedmembers 1 to opposite sides of a common flat member 5.

In the embodiments described above the shaped member 1 is made bydeforming a sheet of constituent material by moulding, pressing, vacuumforming and such-like methods but such member may be formed as aninjection moulding in plastics material. Such a member is illustrated inFIG. 17 and in the form of a double container with the compartmentsthereof in side-by-side arrangement.

Each of the two container main compartment comprises a base portion 13with side walls 14, 15 and top and bottom end walls 16, 17. Theuppermost port 18 is provided in the top wall 16. The wall 14 which iscommon to the two main compartments is formed in displaced planes withthe junction portion formed with a groove 19 opening into the maincompartment and provided with a port 20. The edges of the walls lie in acommon plane with the junction portion and the container is completed byadhering a fiat web 21 thereto. An aperture 22 is formed in such web andthe abutting portion of the moulded part to receive a support wire,ribbon or the like.

It Will be appreciated by those skilled in the moulding art that ashaped part of a variety of different forms may be made to provide amain compartment with an adjacent compartment of smaller cross-sectionopening at its lower end, in operative position, into the maincompartment with edges lying in a common plane so that two shaped partsmay be joined together or one shaped part joined t0 a flat web part, andto provide an uppermost port in one or other part opening into the maincompartment with a lower port in the same or other part opening into thesmaller cross-section compartment at a vertical distance from theuppermost port so providing a main compartment to contain treatmentmaterial and a smaller crosssection compartment which forms an outflowpath for water and dispersed treatment material when the container is inuse in a water cistern.

We claim:

1. A fiuid container for immersion in an upright position into theflushing fiuid of a toilet ushing tank for introducing a predeterminedquantity of a water-dispersible material into said tank upon eachflushing operation comprising,

a first compartment for storing said material in contact with thefiushing fluid,

a second compartment of substantially smaller crosssection than saidfirst compartment and having a fluid communication path joining withsaid first compartment at a predetermined level substantially below thetopmost level of said first compartment, said second compartment lyingwholly above said predetermined level,

a first port in said first compartment adjacent its topmost portion,

and at least one port in said second compartment at a level below thatof said rst port but above said predetermined level,

whereby both said first and second compartments are `filled withflushing fluid each time said flushing tank is filled but upon eachflushing operation the decrease in level of said flushing fluid belowsaid first port causes flushing fluid with said material dispersedtherein to fiow from said first compartment upwardly into said secondcompartment and outwardly through said second port into said tank withthe quantity of fluid thus flowing out of said second port beingdedetermined by the vertical distance between said first and secondports.

2. A water-dispersible treatment material container intended to be usedupright while immersed in water in a toilet flushing tank,

said container including a first wall member with a surrounding marginalflange lying in a plane,

said first wall member being deformed on one side of said plane withinsaid marginal fiange to form a first larger recess and a second smallervertically extending recess having upper and lower ends,

said first recess and said second recess being separated from oneanother except at least at said lower end by a portion of said wallmember which extends back to said plane,

a cooperating fiat second wall member,

means for sealing by affixing said marginal flange and said extended`back portion uid tight to said flat second wall member,

said first recess forming a compartment extending in operative positionof the container to an uppermost point within said marginal ange,

a first port in one of said wall members and opening into saidcompartment at said uppermost point,

and a second port in one of said wall members and opening into saidvertically extending recess,

said second port being above said lower end of said recess spaced avertical distance below said first port.

3. A water-dispersible treatment material container as claimed in claim2 including a third wall member deformed in like marier to said rst.wall member sealingly aixed to said flat second wall member oppositelyto said first wall member in offset relationship, a third portcorresponding to said rst port in at least one of said first and secondwall members, and a fourth port corresponding to said second port in atleast one of said first and second wall members.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 634,515 10/1899 Wade 4-228650,161 5/1900 Williams et al. 4-228 668,762 2/1901 Thomson 4 228969,729 9/1910 Smith 4-228 1,175,032 3/1916 Williams 4-228 3,135,9696/1964 Nolen 4-225 3,225,461 12/1965 Snyder 18-19 X 3,235,639 2/1966Knowles 18-19 X 3,271,816 9/1966 Schneider 18--19 X LAVERNE D. GEIGER,Primary Examiner H. K. ARTIS, Assistant Examiner

